Yesterday was a day of orientation and meetings and full tour of the ship. Got the “lay of the land” and got a good night sleep before starting the real work.
Today my first day in the OR. I was involved in a cleft palate repair in a child and cleft lip repair in an adult. Both cases went really well. It was especially rewarding to see the young man with the cleft lip look in the mirror post-op and give us a thumbs up.
In the OR today we had people from the US, Australia, Italy, Madagascar. So cool to work with an international team who have all come together to help improve the lives of these people.
Also very cool is that the new captain of the ship lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He is originally from Portsmouth, NH and trained at Maine Maritime Academy. He is on the ship for a year with his entire family.
The new chief of anesthesia from Norway is also here for a year with his family. There is a Mercy Ships academy where the children go to school. They start back to school on Tuesday.
So far, in addition to the crew in the OR with me today, I have met people from Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Ireland, England, the Netherlands as well as from all over the US.
Tomorrow I will be working with the General Surgeons doing hernia repairs and mass removals.
Cindy Jenson Medical Missions 
Leave a comment